Smoked Salmon Bagel and Cream Cheese

Enjoy a Smoked Salmon Bagel as a tasty light meal, packed with fresh flavors that are perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

It’s easy to make a smoked salmon bagel at home, just like you might have had at your favorite bagel shop or New York City Deli. This is one of my go-to easy and delicious lunch recipes, and I know that you’re going to love it too!

Fluffy and chewy toasted bagels are spread with savory seasoned herb cream cheese, thin slices of cold buttery smoked salmon, creamy slices of avocado, and fresh crisp vegetables.

The fresh flavors of dill, capers and garlic make this herb cream cheese spread irresistible. Once you’ve had it with smoked salmon, You’ll want to spread it on toast, or use it as a dip for crackers too!

This recipe is perfect if you’re making smoked salmon bagels for 1 or 2 people. If you want to serve a larger crowd, check out how I make a Smoked Salmon Platter instead.

Easy Smoked Salmon Bagels

• A Simple Sandwich – Sandwiches make the perfect brunch or lunch option because they don’t require any cooking and they can be made in a flash! And while this sandwich is easy to make, the flavors and textures combined will make it seem like you put in much more effort than you actually did.
• Easily Adjusted – This recipe for smoked salmon bagel will show you how to make breakfast or lunch for 2, but you can easily adjust the recipe to serve any number of people. You can also feel free to play with the ingredients and sandwich toppings here. You can’t really mess this up!
• Amazing Flavors – You’re going to love the homemade herb cream cheese spread made with fresh dill and capers. It’s so good!

While you’re thinking about bagels, check out how I make the most delicious bagel breakfast sandwiches too.

Ingredients

Here is everything you’ll need to make the most amazing bagels with salmon and cream cheese:

• Bagels: Pick up fresh bagels from your local bakery if at all possible. I like everything bagels, but you can just as easily use plain or sesame seed bagels.
• Smoked Salmon: For topping bagels, look for thinly sliced cold smoked salmon. If you enjoy lox (which is brined rather than smoked) you can use that as well.
• Cream Cheese: Softened cream cheese will be given an upgrade to make the tastiest bagel schmear.
• Garlic, Capers, Dill: Fresh minced garlic, fresh dill, and jarred capers give the cream cheese a savory, tangy flavor.
• Red Onion, Avocado, Cucumber, and Salad Greens: To add some nutrition and flavor to our salmon bagel sandwiches. You might also enjoy adding tomato slices or fresh lemon wedges on the side.

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

How To Make Smoked Salmon Bagels

1. Make the Herb Cream Cheese: In a small bowl, combine the softened cream cheese with dill, capers, garlic, a pinch of salt (don’t add too much since salmon is quite salty), and black pepper to taste. Mix well until all ingredients are evenly incorporated.

2. Toast the Bagels: Slice the bagels in half and toast them in your toaster until they’re toasted the way you like them.
3. Start Assembling: Spread a generous layer of the dill and caper cream cheese on each toasted bagel half. Then place thinly sliced cucumber ribbons on the bottom halves of the bagels.

4. Keep going: On top of the cucumber, layer slices of avocado, smoked salmon, sliced red onion, and a handful of leafy greens. Cover with the top of the bagel and serve right away.

Recipe Tips

• To slice the cucumbers, use a mandoline, or carefully slice ribbons using a vegetable peeler.
• Salad options include arugula, baby spinach, or mixed greens. Alfalfa sprouts are also something to try.
• Look for capers near the pickles in your grocery store, or near the Italian products. You can use up any extras in my recipes for chicken piccata or a Nicoise salad.
• For even more flavor, serve these with a drizzle of my homemade dill mustard sauce and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Storing Tips

It’s best to serve these smoked salmon bagels right away after assembling them. The cream cheese spread can be made up to 3 days ahead of time though, so feel free to have that mixed and ready to go.

What To Serve With Smoked Salmon Bagels

Bagels with cream cheese and salmon are a wonderful thing to serve at brunch or a lunch with friends. To balance out the meal, try serving these sandwiches with other simple breakfast sides:

• Fresh berries, sliced melon, or other fruit.
• Yogurt and granola
• Fruit Salad
• Mini Quiche
• Monkey Bread

Recipe FAQs

Is there a difference between smoked salmon and lox?

Lox is a cured salmon taken from the belly of salmon. It generally has a strong salmon flavor because it doesn’t have any smoky notes. The alternative is “cold-smoked” salmon which is both cured and then smoked at low temperatures. Either can be used in this recipe, so use whichever you prefer.

Can I make this with other flavors of cream cheese?

I really love my homemade cream cheese spread, but if you’re in a hurry, you can use plain cream cheese or a flavored option from your grocery store. Something with garlic, veggies, or herbs would be best.

Can I skip the salmon?

Sure! The flavors of this sandwich are amazing as a vegetarian bagel sandwich too. You might also like to try it with roasted red pepper in place of the salmon or vegan lox made from carrots.

This easy and delicious salmon bagel and cream cheese recipe is the only one you’ll ever need! It’s quick, it’s simple, it tastes amazing and it’s the perfect light meal for you and your family. Don’t forget to pin this to save it for later too!